Army recruits to get iPhones/Smartphones?

[Bateluer]

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/09/23/hey-soldier-youre-in-the-iphone-army-now/?hpt=T2

Soldiers will not only get the phones for free -- Uncle Sam will also pick up the monthly bill. But the troops will have to return them once they've finished their training, at least in the pilot program. "In the future, soldiers could potentially keep the phone for their entire Army career," an Army official said Wednesday. They might also get extra money to help pay the monthly charges.

Hmm, while I've used these types of apps myself for various USAF AFIs and such, I don't think issuing them to basic training recruits is a very smart idea. For starters, BMT is hard on the person, hard on the group. An iphone is going to get demolished in the first day. Probably by a DI when they rip it from the recruits hand as they go to look up the answer to the DI's question.

Also, I would think that spending that money would be better spent on things like, I dunno, body armor. You know, those things that can actually save the soldier's life.

 

[woolfe9999]

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2010/09/23/hey-soldier-youre-in-the-iphone-army-now/?hpt=T2



Hmm, while I've used these types of apps myself for various USAF AFIs and such, I don't think issuing them to basic training recruits is a very smart idea. For starters, BMT is hard on the person, hard on the group. An iphone is going to get demolished in the first day. Probably by a DI when they rip it from the recruits hand as they go to look up the answer to the DI's question.

Also, I would think that spending that money would be better spent on things like, I dunno, body armor. You know, those things that can actually save the soldier's life.

Smart phones are also very distracting. My wife spends literally hours per day texting, surfing and playing games on her iphone. IMO that is the last thing we need for military recruits.

- wolf

 

[Schadenfroh]

Smart phones are evil in terms of productivity, I find myself playing with it (surfing the web, checking email, reading RSS, etc.) without even thinking.

I do not text message, so I imagine it is worse for the people who do.

Heck, during a project demo, myself, another researcher, our P.I. and a representative of our sponsor got distracted nearly simultaneously and played on our smart phones for about 15 minutes before I said something (our sponsor's representative was even distracted by his) after our P.I. received a short phone call (he started playing with it after hanging up).

 

[PeshakJang]

Since when did trainees get to use anything but a pay-phone for 5 minutes?

Is this a joke?

That's why we have so many worthless crybabies coming into the service... don't wanna get yelled at, don't wanna do a push up, don't wanna lose any sleep. Don't worry private... some liberal in Washington is working to make sure you're treated like the special person you are.

 

[PeshakJang]

Hertling says the Army really doesn't "want to get into the business of issuing smart phones -- we want them to pull down the apps." But his superiors are investigating the possibility of making iPhones a nifty recruiting tool. Not only that: the iPhone is made in China. If it becomes a key tool for the U.S. Army, it could reduce the chance of war between Beijing and Washington.
​

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Really?.......REALLY? If this is seriously the thinking of those in charge, we're in trouble.

 

[PJABBER]

"OK you worms, listen up!"

"This here is your official Army-issue tellyphone which you will use to store non-nakkid pictures of your girlfriend and your dog, make calls to mommy, check your stock portfolio, play Farmville, play grab ass with and post to ATP&N whenever you feel like it."

"Every swinging dick, hold it up so I can see it! That means you, too, Mary Quite Contrary! And you, too, Cheeze Wiz! Not you, Pretty Chavez. You, Ugly Chavez!"

"Now, I want every one of you cue balls to hold it directly in front of you and look it straight in the face."

"Shore is pretty, ain't it?"

"I know you love it more than you love your buddy, and you love it more than your weapon. Ain't that right? You love it more than you love me, as we are having kind of a love-hate thing going here."

"Keep holding it up. I didn't say push any of those shiny buttons, did I, Mushmouth? Get down and give me twenty for jerking off to it with your skanky fingers. And give me another twenty for eyeballin' me!"

"Now, I want EVERYONE to kiss it. That's it. Kiss it and hold the position. I want you to remember this lovely moment for the entirety of your time here with me and the Senior Drill here at OSUT!"

"As everyone has now kissed your Little Miss Fairy smartphone on the lips good-bye, I want you to gently, and I mean gently, that's Army property, you know, to toss it into the garbage bag that the company orderly is going to be walking by with."

"Don't cry, Suzie, nothing to cry about, yet. PT is in fifteen minutes as is the five click forced march to it, and I will see you cry then or turn in my stripes and cover. You can't have my wings or Ranger tab or CIB as those are sewn onto my soul."

"Thank you for your coopration. I will personally be sure to return this personal Army issue property to you as soon as you get a GO from OSUT."

"Now, who of you dickwads has signed up for an airborne slot after your time here with us? You start beating your boots until I feel tired of hearing the sound of leather."

"Who here has volunteered for a Ranger battalion? Two of you? What are the rest of you? Conscientious objectors?"

"Ranger wannabees, you will start giving me pushups until the air in here is so full of your nasty breath that my windows fog up. You are my special children, you will be my little project, you will learn to endure my own personal little hell on earth because if you ever get out of here alive you just be starting down a rocky path indeed. And if our paths should ever cross, be they under a full canopy or by my side feeding me ammo I want you to not forget where you took your first step toward manhood. Get down, get down, get down! And start pushing!"

"Platoon! Tenhut!"

 

[PeshakJang]

"OK you worms, listen up!"

"This here is your official Army-issue tellyphone which you will use to store pictures of your girlfriend, makes call to mommy, check your stock portfolio, play Farmville, play grab ass with and post to ATP&N whenever you feel like it."

"Every swinging dick, hold it up so I can see it! That means you, too, Mary Quite Contrary! And you, too Cheeze Wiz, I mean Chavez!"

Now, I want every one of you cue balls to hold it directly in front of your face and look it straight in the face.

"Shore is pretty, ain't it?"

"I know you love it more than you love your buddy, and you love it more than your weapon. Ain't that right? You love it more than you love me, as we are having kind of a love-hate thing going here."

"Keep holding it up. I didn't say push any of those shiny buttons, did I, Mushmouth? Get down and give me twenty for jerking off to it with your skanky fingers. And give me another twenty for eyeballin' me!"

"Now, I want EVERYONE to kiss it. That's it. Kiss it and hold the position. I want you to remember this lovely moment for the entirety of your time here with me and the Senior Drill here at OSUT!"

"As everyone has now kissed your Little Miss Fairy smartphone on the lips good-bye, I want you to gently, and I mean gently, that's Army property, you know, to toss it into the garbage bag that the company orderly is going to be walking by with."

"Don't cry, Suzie, nothing to cry about, yet. PT is in fifteen minutes as is the five click forced march to it, and I will see you cry then or turn in my stripes and CIB. You can't have my wings or Ranger tab as those are sewn onto my soul."

"Thank you for your coopration. I will personally be sure to return this personal Army issue property to you as soon as you get a GO from OSUT."

"Now, who of you dickwads has signed up for an airborne slot after your time here with us? You start beating your boots until I feel tired of hearing the sound of leather."

"Who here has volunteered for a Ranger battalion? Two of you? What are the rest of you? Conscientious objectors?"

"Ranger wannabees, you will start giving me pushups until the air in here is so full of your nasty breath that my windows fog up. You are my special children, you will be my little project, you will learn to endure my own personal little hell on earth because if you ever get out of here alive you just be starting down a rocky path indeed. And if our paths should ever cross, be they under a full canopy or by my side feeding me ammo I want you to not forget where you took your first step toward manhood. Get down, get down, get down! And start pushing!"

"Platoon! Tenhut!"

I like reminiscing too... Sand Hill isn't even a shadow of what it used to be. It's almost relaxing these days. Last time I stopped by (~2 years ago), I heard drill sergeants ASKING privates to get in formation and PLEASE be quiet.

 

[PJABBER]

I like reminiscing too... Sand Hill isn't even a shadow of what it used to be. It's almost relaxing these days. Last time I stopped by (~2 years ago), I heard drill sergeants ASKING privates to get in formation and PLEASE be quiet.

Hard to believe, I know. I spent a little bit of time with the ITB at Benning. Most of my time was spent at Harmony Church, however, when I wasn't myself at IOBC, IOAC, Airborne School (cadre), Ranger School, SOA (cadre.) I ran a BT company with Reservists at Dix one summer. My drill sergeants all had multiple combat tours under their bulletproof belts. We took special care of our trainees.

 

[Generator]

Spare no expense for the Military Welfare Complex.

 

[dainthomas]

I like reminiscing too... Sand Hill isn't even a shadow of what it used to be. It's almost relaxing these days. Last time I stopped by (~2 years ago), I heard drill sergeants ASKING privates to get in formation and PLEASE be quiet.

Haha, WTF? Navy boot camp was worse than that back in the day. I'd hate to see what it's like now.

 

[Infohawk]

We need to cut conventional military spending down. We don't need hordes of grunts anymore. Or at least we wouldn't if we got out of the muslim occupied territories.

 

[Zebo]

I'm wondering about durability in their environment of a smart-phone....seems wasteful. Maybe if they made a milspec waterproof, dust proof, shock proof iPhone it would be a good idea otherwise I think they will eat phones.

 

[Zebo]

Since when did trainees get to use anything but a pay-phone for 5 minutes?

Is this a joke?

That's why we have so many worthless crybabies coming into the service... don't wanna get yelled at, don't wanna do a push up, don't wanna lose any sleep. Don't worry private... some liberal in Washington is working to make sure you're treated like the special person you are.

Reminds on a line from Apoc. "the enemies idea of R&R is a little cold rice with rat meat"

We won't win another war until our services undergo major transformation. Just think of it as a anti- poverty program. (Combat arms, para rescue and a few others excluded truly underpaid)

 

[Ackmed]

Since when did trainees get to use anything but a pay-phone for 5 minutes?

Is this a joke?

That's why we have so many worthless crybabies coming into the service... don't wanna get yelled at, don't wanna do a push up, don't wanna lose any sleep. Don't worry private... some liberal in Washington is working to make sure you're treated like the special person you are.

The fact that the Army gets to use the phone at all during their short basic training tells a story by itself. Try a real boot camp where you dont get anything until the last week of training.

 

[dainthomas]

The fact that the Army gets to use the phone at all during their short basic training tells a story by itself. Try a real boot camp where you dont get anything until the last week of training.

We got like a five minute call either once or twice to let our families know we weren't dead or something.

Hopefully the Marines aren't using "stress cards" and all this other nonsense in boot camp.

 

[PeshakJang]

Hard to believe, I know. I spent a little bit of time with the ITB at Benning. Most of my time was spent at Harmony Church, however, when I wasn't myself at IOBC, IOAC, Airborne School (cadre), Ranger School, SOA (cadre.) I ran a BT company with Reservists at Dix one summer. My drill sergeants all had multiple combat tours under their bulletproof belts. We took special care of our trainees.

Ranger school is probably the last bastion of (in)sanity we have. Even during my class, the rumor was that they were going to eliminate staying out in the field because too many people were getting bit by spiders/snakes. Hopefully that's just the rumor for every class... but who knows anymore.

Hell... in OSUT we had a kid go into a goddamn COMA on the road march back to the hill.. Woke up in time for graduation.

 

[Homerboy]

I don't understand why they need "service"

Either A) download what they will NEED on to them and that's it (now ifi etc) or B) allow wifi, but only to the Army LAN and apps/files located on it.

Why does it need wifi access or phone service on it at all?

 

[PJABBER]

Entry into military service does take different paths, depending on the service.

As I am only familiar with infantry basic training I really am a bit concerned by what seems to be the current kinder, gentler approach. The more you bleed in training, the less you bleed in combat is one truism that has proven itself over and over again.

From discussing the best way to approach basic training with Marine officers and NCOs and going through Army basic myself, as well as commanding a basic training company for a short while, I see three general paths that are followed in the combat arms. Here, I have to say that I am completely unfamiliar with either the Navy or Air Force approaches, though my guess is that they would also follow similar doctrines.

The first is the Marine approach with boot camp. The idea, as I was informed, is to take the raw recruit, break down their individuality as quickly as possible, and forge the recruit under fairly consistent levels of high stress right from the start. As all Marines are considered first to be riflemen, there is an immediate emphasis on those values which are most important to infantry.

The Army approach is a modified version of this in that the stress inductors are not initially that severe (they used to be) and there is an acclimatization that is allowed to occur. The intent is not so much to break the trainee down, but rather to build up from where they are. The transition is more gradual than in the Marine Corps but after the acclimatization occurs the subsequent advanced training is actually likely more severe, ie Ranger training, unit training in Ranger battalions, etc.

The third approach is that used by Special Forces. This is definitely not basic training but I wanted to point out that it, too, requires a mindset adaptation as well as a physical one. Here, of course, we only have troops that have good levels of physical fitness, usually have the basics down pretty good. The trainees have already volunteered for infantry, airborne, etc. and they already have a certain mindset. What I wanted to point out is that the SF approach is a quiet one. No need to yell to capture anyone's attention, no need for any form of histrionics, start with a week of physical and mental stressors right away to winnow out the obviously weak and then just apply constantly increasing challenges and stressors until you and the trainee figure out if it's a match made in heaven.

No matter which approach is preferred, the emphasis is on concentration on the task, the mission, the immediate and proximate circumstance. Introducing an easy way to de-connect with the training environment is not good. Introducing any distraction is not good.

But then again, when I went to Basic (Fort Knox, mech infantry,) while we were allowed only one phone call, we were allowed to buy beer and smoke cigarettes by the end of the cycle. Don't know that I would trade in beer (even the weak stuff they made available) for a phone if it came to that.

 

[PJABBER]

Ranger school is probably the last bastion of (in)sanity we have.

LOL, volunteering to going to Ranger School definitely shows you have a masochistic streak somewhere.

I knew I had a link to these NSFW recruitment videos for Ranger School -

Ranger School Promo

Ranger School Promo 2

:whiste:

 

[OutHouse]

Hard to believe, I know. I spent a little bit of time with the ITB at Benning. Most of my time was spent at Harmony Church, however, when I wasn't myself at IOBC, IOAC, Airborne School (cadre), Ranger School, SOA (cadre.) I ran a BT company with Reservists at Dix one summer. My drill sergeants all had multiple combat tours under their bulletproof belts. We took special care of our trainees.

Off subject, when i went through some very special Air Force training in the mid 80's, we were taught some very interesting and lethal ambush techniques by SF who just returned from Afghanistan killing Russians.

 

[tinker2141]

I am so glad the Marines still hold to the standard of winning battles. This is a joke. I will admit we still have the problems other services have but not as wide spread. No stress cards in Boot Camp either.

 

[OutHouse]

LOL, volunteering to going to Ranger School definitely shows you have a masochistic streak somewhere.

I knew I had a link to these NSFW recruitment videos for Ranger School -

Ranger School Promo

Ranger School Promo 2

:whiste:

lol, i worked with Rangers in Panama and hands down they are the craziest bunch of meat heads i have ever meet. i once saw the NCO club separate, on one side was Army, marines airforce and on the other side was all rangers. hell they even kicked the shit out of one of K9's. our commander HATED it when the Rangers came out of the jungle because they tore up the base and the NCO club was the first high value target they hit.

 

[Bateluer]

This is my iPhone. There are many like it. But this one is mine.